LANSING -- A new poll suggests Gov. Rick Snyder's popularity has not been hurt by his December about-face on right-to-work legislation.

The poll by the Republican firm Mitchell Research and Communications -- released on the eve of Snyder's third State of the State address today -- is sharply at odds with a poll released Dec. 18 by a Democratic polling firm, Public Policy Polling of North Carolina.

The Mitchell poll shows Snyder with a 50% approval rating, up 3 percentage points from a poll Mitchell took in December. It also shows 50% support for the controversial right-to-work legislation Snyder signed after it was passed by the Legislature in December.

In contrast, the PPP poll found 38% approval of Snyder, down 9 percentage points from an earlier PPP poll just before the Nov. 6 election. The PPP poll found 41% of voters support the right-to-work legislation, and 51% oppose it.

"A month has gone by, including the holidays," said Steve Mitchell, president of Mitchell Research and Communications. Michigan voters have "moved a month away now from this kind of seismic change and have put it more in perspective."

The political breakdown in Mitchell's sample was 42% who identified themselves as Democrats and 34% who said they were Republican. The political breakdown in the PPP poll was 38% who said they were Democrats and 28% who were Republican.